The Saddest Las Vegas Restaurant Closings of 2024
Picasso. | Anthony Mair We look back at Las Vegas Strip powerhouses, niche cocktail bars, and neighborhood haunts that we already miss It’s time again for the Year in Eater — where we look back at the last twelve months of Las Vegas’s restaurant scene. We reached out to Vegas’s finest food writers, reporters, and bloggers to get their takes on local trends, recent standouts, and notable newcomers. Here, they weigh in on the year’s saddest restaurant closures. At its inception, I thought the Sundry food hall had the potential to stand out as the first off-Strip venue to take the food hall trend seriously. Its closure raises questions about whether Vegas’s pivot from buffets to food halls is here to stay — or whether the trend is just that. Downtown Cocktail Room had been the only bar in town where, on a slow night and for a generous tip, a bartender would dry-shake egg whites for the requisite four to seven minutes for my Ramos gin fizz. And 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea at Lost Spirits Distillery had been a big swing with big ideas — I’m eager to see what chef Taylor Persh gets up to next.— Janna Karel, Editor at Eater Vegas Downtown Cocktail Room was a tough departure from DTLV. Not only were the cocktails excellent, but that specific old-timey lounge nostalgia made each trip special. Chinglish was another sad farewell.— Jen Avison Smith, freelance writer for Eater Vegas, Desert Companion, and more Picasso at Bellagio was a Vegas institution that always stood for excellence and was one of the best of the best. I’ll miss the Sundry Food Hall at UnCommons and how you could order dishes from more than a dozen restaurants and have them delivered to your table without having to leave your seat. The 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea at Lost Spirits Distillery at Area 15 was probably the most unique dining experience imaginable, as the 16 courses included strangely delicious items you’ve likely never tried, such as eel salad sandwich with black sesame, uni (the eatable part of a sea urchin) roe with date vinegar, and a pig’s head carved tableside.— Bob Barnes, freelance writer for Vegas Prime Magazine, Eater Vegas, Gayot, and more The Sundry at the Uncommons, Crown & Anchor— Louiie Victa, freelance photographer for Eater and more Piscasso closing, end of an era; Chinglish, really liked all the meals I had there; Safta 1964, I hope to see more from Alon Shaya here in the future, but alas Safta was just a pop-up.— Melinda Sheckells, editor of the Town Magazine and writer for Hollywood Reporter and more After a 25-year-long successful run, I think the saddest closure was Picasso at Bellagio. Chef Julian Serrano is a legend.— Emmy Kasten, freelance writer for Eater, the Infatuation, and more Forte and the Downtown Cocktail Room really stand out to me. Both were entrenched in Vegas for years and neither was afraid to do its own thing. Bar Oysterette started off as something special, but was barely a shell of itself by the time the Sundry closed a year after opening.— Rob Kachelriess, Hey Las Vegas Editor at City Cast Las Vegas
Tomas Kauer - Las Vegas Syndicated News 
We look back at Las Vegas Strip powerhouses, niche cocktail bars, and neighborhood haunts that we already miss
It’s time again for the Year in Eater — where we look back at the last twelve months of Las Vegas’s restaurant scene. We reached out to Vegas’s finest food writers, reporters, and bloggers to get their takes on local trends, recent standouts, and notable newcomers. Here, they weigh in on the year’s saddest restaurant closures.
At its inception, I thought the Sundry food hall had the potential to stand out as the first off-Strip venue to take the food hall trend seriously. Its closure raises questions about whether Vegas’s pivot from buffets to food halls is here to stay — or whether the trend is just that. Downtown Cocktail Room had been the only bar in town where, on a slow night and for a generous tip, a bartender would dry-shake egg whites for the requisite four to seven minutes for my Ramos gin fizz. And 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea at Lost Spirits Distillery had been a big swing with big ideas — I’m eager to see what chef Taylor Persh gets up to next.
— Janna Karel, Editor at Eater Vegas
Downtown Cocktail Room was a tough departure from DTLV. Not only were the cocktails excellent, but that specific old-timey lounge nostalgia made each trip special. Chinglish was another sad farewell.
— Jen Avison Smith, freelance writer for Eater Vegas, Desert Companion, and more
Picasso at Bellagio was a Vegas institution that always stood for excellence and was one of the best of the best. I’ll miss the Sundry Food Hall at UnCommons and how you could order dishes from more than a dozen restaurants and have them delivered to your table without having to leave your seat. The 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea at Lost Spirits Distillery at Area 15 was probably the most unique dining experience imaginable, as the 16 courses included strangely delicious items you’ve likely never tried, such as eel salad sandwich with black sesame, uni (the eatable part of a sea urchin) roe with date vinegar, and a pig’s head carved tableside.
— Bob Barnes, freelance writer for Vegas Prime Magazine, Eater Vegas, Gayot, and more
The Sundry at the Uncommons, Crown & Anchor
— Louiie Victa, freelance photographer for Eater and more
Piscasso closing, end of an era; Chinglish, really liked all the meals I had there; Safta 1964, I hope to see more from Alon Shaya here in the future, but alas Safta was just a pop-up.
— Melinda Sheckells, editor of the Town Magazine and writer for Hollywood Reporter and more
After a 25-year-long successful run, I think the saddest closure was Picasso at Bellagio. Chef Julian Serrano is a legend.
— Emmy Kasten, freelance writer for Eater, the Infatuation, and more
Forte and the Downtown Cocktail Room really stand out to me. Both were entrenched in Vegas for years and neither was afraid to do its own thing. Bar Oysterette started off as something special, but was barely a shell of itself by the time the Sundry closed a year after opening.
— Rob Kachelriess, Hey Las Vegas Editor at City Cast Las Vegas
